Two Kinds of Beasts!

Firstly, Blogger is playing up so sorry for the formatting at the bottom of this page and I have also been unable to comment for quite some time. I'm not ignoring you!

I spent a few hours selecting my location; this is always crucial as it can make all the difference with wildlife photography. I had no intention of photographing the deer on this day, it was all about preperation.
After selecting my spot (deep in the forest) I quickly built myself a hide from dead branches etc and then left the area.

This was the view from my hide, where hopefully I would capture some rutting and even a fight between two bucks; if I was lucky.


The following day I was sat in the hide at 7.30am with a cammo net draped over the front. It was cold, damp and again I was sat in a very uncomfortable position with a tree root sticking in my butt!
It's all about patience now, just staying very still and quiet while listening for any noises, which would tell me that a deer or another mammal was close by.
The buck was roaring nearby and the noise was getting closer, so I knew he was making his way towards me.
I saw him peering through some bracken, checking the area was safe. He was just to my left making his way to the clearing.


I was ready, the pain and the cold was gone, just my will remained, for him to stand in the clearing.
To put the work in and vision a shot; then to walk away with that shot is an achievement.
He got closer and was now on the edge of the clearing, just a few more steps and I could get the shot I was after.


He stood there for a few minuets and I could tell he was nervous. Had he picked up me scent? Doubtful as I had the wind in my face; it must be something else.
Then I heard it; loud talking in a forein language!
He was gone, disappeared into the forest and my teeth were grating as I had been only moments away from my goal.
I just sat there looking in the direction of the voices. The talking became louder and then I saw them; bucket toting fungi collectors!
They had no idea I was there even though they were no more than 5 metres away from me, but even worse they had no idea that they had just disturbed a rutting area. Either that, or they didn't care.
They moved out of sight, but not far, so my time had been wasted in this area. Thoroughly "%**+= off I decided to move about 250 metres to another location.

45min I had been sat in the second location when I heard a noise coming from behind me. It sounded heavy and could only be a mammal I thought as I sat there ready for whatever it was to walk past me.
This is what walked past me!


There were three of them in total and I knew it was useless to carry on. All my preperation had been wasted, all my time and effort gone in a flash.
I understand that the forest is for all to enjoy, but the forest is a big place and I couldn't believe that they chose the part I was camped out in.

I decided to get some fungi shots (before the three amigos collected it all). So I snapped on my macro lens and went fungi humting.

Here are some of the fungi I found with some MINI BEASTS!



















.


They weren't the only Beasts that had been in the forest! I came across this; a half full fuel container, left behind from Forestry Opperations



And then this!!!!


Time to go home!

Look out for Bambi!

Our roe and fallow deer have given birth to their fawns, so please be aware of this if walking your dog off lead in the forest.
The doe will leave her fawn in the grass, sometimes near the edge of a track while she wanders off in search of food. This is not neglect and the fawn has not been abandoned as the doe needs to feed to keep her strength up and to produce milk for her suckling fawn.
Fallow deer have one fawn after a gestation period of nearly nine months, whereas roe deer have between one and three fawns after a gestation period of ten months. The mortality rate for roe deer fawns is much higher than fallow deer fawns and one reason is due to their weight and size at birth.
A roe fawn can weigh as little as 1.5kg, whereas a fallow fawn weighs between 4 - 5kg.

If you come across one, please don't disturb it or stay around it for too long as the doe will be anxiously watching from a distance and it will also be very stressful for the fawn. Thanks.

Deer in the Forest of Dean...

Roe Deer - Buck


Roe Deer - Doe


Fallow Deer - Buck


Fallow Deer - Doe


Fallow Deer - Doe & Fawn


Melanistic Fallow Fawn


Rob

The Buzzard & the Buck

First, we have a buzzard. This is now our most commonly seen bird of prey in Britain.
This was a big old bird that was taking a nap in a tree when I found it. Look at the size of the talons, pretty impressive!




It then took flight, but went the wrong way! Never mind, still nice to see up close.




Next we have a poor young fallow deer buck. He was being eaten alive by flies and midges. I know exactly how he felt as they were everywhere, in my ears and eyes.




His ears didn't stop flicking, trying to keep the flies at bay. As you can see, the flies were out in mass! I wish I could flick my ears.




It got so bad that he decided to just shut his eyes while munching on the buttercups.



Rob

Horrific End for a Giant

This will probably be disturbing to most, but I need to post the pic to raise awareness on the plight of our wildlife when people fly tip and just discard their waste without thinking or caring about our wildlife.
This fallow deer buck had obviously picked up this twine and had made it quite deep into the forest before getting tangled up with the tree.

This is where he died, after a slow agonising, excruciatingly painful death!

All that is left are his antlers, still tangled in the twine and some scattered bones, which would have been dragged away after he was scavenged by foxes, birds and anything else that came by.
The bark had been rubbed off the tree from him going round and round trying to free himself!

I am hoping that this pic will make some people think twice in the future and if only one person thinks twice before throwing their coke can out the window, or the local builder takes his rubbish to the correct disposal point, then this fella would not have died in vain.
Thanks to Neil Henderson for bringing this to my attention and allowing me to use his photograph.

R.I.P - for your last days on earth were hell!


(c) Neil Henderson


Rob

BBC Glos Wildlife Feature

Click the link below, it will take you to a new deer feature, which I have written for the BBC Gloucestershire website.
Knocked Autumnwatch off the top spot, lol.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/gloucestershire/hi/people_and_places/nature/default.stm

Fallow Bucks

Here are a few pics from my latest batch of fallow bucks, taken today in the forest.

(EDIT) I would just like to point out that I don't just walk into the forest and photograph deer like this. I sit, usually in very cramped, wet and cold places for up to 4hrs or more before I am rewarded with opportunities like these.

I am nursing a very sore back from my session today!

This melanistic fallow buck got a little frisky and jumped the fallen tree.

He then stood on the other side and looked out into the forest.


I have cropped this one. Common fallow buck.

Rob

Pics and Video From Today

Went walkabout earlier and found some more deer, although they didn't want to look at me today for some reason.
Must be my ninja skills?!


Can you see her? Click pic for larger view


I was tempted to jump on and hitch a ride!

My eldest daughter Alice was with me today, she is 14 years old and she sat in a cold, damp cramped environment for 3.5hrs and she was so quiet that these deer walked out no more than 20 feet in front of us.

A Close Encounter

A close encounter with a large, mature fallow deer buck in the Forest of Dean, in October 2009.

Is this a true albino? Please comment...

Another Fallow Buck

Another fallow buck, not as old as the last one, but still nice to see. Some doe's around also.

Fallow Buck

This is quite an impressive fallow deer buck with a few of his doe's in the Forest of Dean. Sorry about the shakey camera, no tripod today!

He is not that old, but he has some pretty impressive antlers already and I can't wait to see him in a few years time.

Pics from BBC Points West

Well, I expect some will be looking for my pics featured on the TV last night, so here they are...


Fallow Doe (Dama dama)

Female Adder (Vipera berus)

Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)

White Fallow Buck (Dama dama)

Thanks

Rob

White Buck Pics

Well, I didn't have to wait long to get my pics of the white buck! 24hrs to be precise. I was sat in a cramped position for just over 3hrs today when he finally showed and I was rewarded with this shot among others.

23.09.2009

I don't think he is a true albinistic buck, just white, but that's OK.

Guess I was just in the right place at the right time, but after seeing him there yesterday, I had to try my luck again.

I also managed to snap a couple of common and a melanistic fallow deer. I also saw a menil doe the other day, but she was too far away to photograph. I Will try harder next time!

Melanistic

Common

Common

Common

New Deer Pics & Video from the Forest of Dean

Well, the fallow deer rut is around the corner and the doe's are already grouping. Counted 19 in two groups on Monday 21st September.
I managed to get some pics of the one group. Here they are...

Click on the images for larger size.


This image has been cropped to highlight the tick on top of her left ear!


Two young doe's having a bit of fun. The dark one is melanistic.

Spotted me! Oh well never mind!

OK, this is not a deer, nor is it in the Forest of Dean! It's a grey heron I photographed on the river Avon earlier this month.

This is a rare treat! A pure white fallow buck, not a true albinistic fallow buck, but impressive none the less. I filmed him on Tuesday 22nd September.

I was quite a way off and I didn't want to scare him away by trying to get closer. 50x optical zoom pulled him in though.

Adder Video Footage

Lovely weather for reptiles today at New Fancy, although too hazy to see the Gos. Saw three male adult adders, a juvenile female adder and a common lizard on the walk up to the viewpoint, see video footage of a male adder at the bottom of this post.



My best encounter of the day was with a Roe Deer Buck in Speech House woods, sorry for the blurry pic, but it was a grab shot, tried getting a little too close! See pic below. Wish I had filmed him now!

Roe Deer Buck

Male Adder Close Up

Forest Fallow Deer

Here is a nice scene, a couple of fallow bucks and some doe's just after the rut in November 2007.
Even though the patchy sun looks nice, it made the conditions difficult for a good photo. I had to wait for the deer to be become vertually motionless or else I would have ended up with motion blur, which happened on around 80% of the pics from this shoot.